


With a Little Help from my Friends

by yookihyunnieX



Category: Monsta X (Band)
Genre: Alcohol, Changkyun is a gay confused cutie, Fluff, He's really just trying his best, M/M, Marijuana, Multi, Polyamory, Queer Themes, Recreational Drug Use
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-21
Updated: 2019-04-21
Packaged: 2020-01-23 15:49:07
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,954
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18552880
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yookihyunnieX/pseuds/yookihyunnieX
Summary: Changkyun doesn't smoke much, but wants to impress his crush Hyungwon, who definitely does. He also meets Hyungwon's roommates for the first time and desperately wants to avoid doing anything Stupid. But as the night goes on, he learns something about Hyungwon that he didn't know, and he's gonna need some help processing it, whether it be weed, alcohol, or talking it through.Note: We're gonna walk right into rolling a blunt, honey, so don't be surprised! And, as always, thanks for reading <3





	With a Little Help from my Friends

“So, you’re gonna want a small piece of paper like this one,” Hyungwon noted, eyes wide and serious. He didn’t mess around when it came to the methods of marijuana. “Fold it back and forth twice like a mini fan, then roll the rest around itself. That’s your filter.”

Changkyun had smoked a few blunts (mostly in the presence of Hyungwon), but when Hyungwon asked him to roll a blunt earlier that night, he had to confess he didn’t know how. He tried to keep any hint that he was inexperienced with marijuana to a minimum, but he figured it would be less embarrassing to confess that he didn’t know how to roll one than to get it horrendously wrong. Hyungwon replied with a wide grin. “Follow me.”

Hyungwon walked him through each step meticulously, delicately packing in the buds whole and deftly rolling the blunt wrap, giving shape to the light brown cylinder. He gave the tobacco paper one quick lick and sealed the roll.

“Voila!” Hyungwon declared with a smirk. He fiddled with his hempwick and lit up to take a long hit. “Think you can do it now?” he asked, smoke flowing out from between his lips.

Changkyun quickly reviewed the steps in his head. He’d gotten a little distracted as he watched Hyungwon move his long and elegant fingers doing something so rebellious with such ease. But he wanted to impress Hyungwon, so he gave a short nod. “Yeah, I think so,” he smiled. “You make it look so easy.”

“Good,” Hyungwon grinned quickly before connecting his lips to the blunt once more with a deep inhale. “Roll your own.”

And with that, Hyungwon turned toward his living room, leaving Changkyun staring after him as his slender legs carried him through the kitchen archway, with the beat of PUP’s  _ Reservoir _ blaring around him.

Abandoned, Changkyun blinked twice, going through the steps of Blunt Rolling:101 once more. This was only the second time Changkyun had been invited to Hyungwon’s apartment, and the first time he’d met Hyungwon’s roommates. He desperately wanted to avoid looking like an idiot at all costs. 

Reaching for the ziplock baggie of marijuana buds, Changkyun startled at the touch of a hand on his shoulder.

“He’s not all that impressive,” came the voice of Roommate #1, Kihyun, as he plucked the bag right from Changkyun’s hands. Changkyun hadn’t noticed him come in to grab another drink. The older guy plopped a handful of buds into the grinder that surfaced from who knows where--his pocket?--and tossed the bag onto the counter. “It tastes better this way anyway.”

Kihyun twisted his hands in opposite directions, grinding away. Another thing Changkyun had seen, but never done himself. He was still kind of new to the whole “weed thing.”

“He gets all fancy with his hempwick lighter and doesn’t even bother to grind his buds. Flavor Purist my ass,” Kihyun said, rolling his eyes. He passed the grinder to Changkyun and reached to pick up the can of 60 Minute IPA he’d grabbed from the fridge. “Anyways,” his can popped open, “I’ll watch you roll it and fix whatever you fuck up.”

Changkyun silently praised Kihyun, this short, purple-haired angel, tossing back a big swig of beer from a bright green can. He grinned and clumsily opened the grinder, spilling only a few bits of the ground ganja onto the counter. Kihyun noticed and said nothing.  _ Bless him. _

“Thanks, man,” he hoped it sounded casual.  _ God _ , he was trying so hard to be cool.

“No problem,  _ bro _ ,” Kihyun smirked and took another quick sip. 

Changkyun flushed and began tapping the weed into a line on the tobacco paper before him, trying to ignore Kihyun’s judging eyes.  _ He’s an ally, _ Changkyun reminded himself.  _ He’s here to help. _

Kihyun was a hard guy to read. When Changkyun arrived to the apartment, it went a little like this:

  1. Changkyun is welcomed by a dank and hazy room. His jacket is taken by a very excited blonde, who he laters discovers to be Roommate #2, Minhyuk. Minhyuk pets his hair like he’s a puppy and boops his nose with giggle.
  2. Kihyun strolls over and introduces himself with a _firm_ , no-nonsense handshake and apologizes on behalf of Minhyuk, who just split a bowl with Hyungwon.
  3. Hyungwon emerges from the bathroom, wiping a bit of water from his hands onto his black skinny jeans. Kihyun rolls his eyes at this and declares that they _do_ , in fact, _own towels, you know._
  4. Hyungwon ignores this comment and comes to greet Changkyun with a hug, and a gentle kiss to the forehead. Hyungwon giggles. Kihyun takes a drink.
  5. Kihyun corrals everyone into the living room and asks Changkyun specifically about _his_ taste in music. His eyes light up when Changkyun mentions Sorority Noise. Kihyun switches the playlist from Minhyuk’s pop selections to punk rock, giving Changkyun a nod of approval.



Changkyun felt simultaneously hardcore judged and soundly appraised by Hyungwon’s roommate. Well, not Minhyuk, obviously. He might’ve been too high to even catch Changkyun’s  _ name _ . But he couldn’t tell if Kihyun was rooting for Changkyun to get with Hyungwon, or if he thought him to be a total idiot.

“Roll the paper between your fingers more,” his voice interrupted Changkyun’s thoughts. He obeyed, carefully trying to avoid spilling any more of the weed. He successfully rolled the blunt and sealed it with a lick of his saliva. 

“Not bad,” Kihyun nodded. “Better than my first.”

_ He’s lying _ , Changkyun thought.

“Thanks,” Changkyun smiled. “Do want to take the first hit?”

“I’m good, thanks” he raised his beer. “I’m starting a new job, so I don’t want to risk it. Gotta pee clean.” And off he went to the living room, leaving Changkyun alone in the kitchen, blunt in one hand, lighter in the other, both extended towards where Kihyun stood not even three seconds ago.

He took a slow inhale and lit the end of his freshly rolled amateur blunt, then immediately coughed a few times when he finished his hit. His throat burned and Changkyun hoped, once again, that he wouldn’t look like a fool when he joined the group. He grabbed his own can of 60 Min to soothe his scorched esophagus and headed towards the sound of Bad Religion’s fast tempo.

“Changkyunnn!” Hyungwon exclaimed, rushing towards him. “I thought you left!” he pouted. Hyungwon was so  _ fucking _ adorable when he was high. He was giggly and whiny and CUTE.

“He was rolling the blunt you abandoned him to do by himself!” Kihyun shouted over the music from the couch. 

“I was only gone for, like, 5 minutes,” Changkyun chuckled as Hyungwon leaned down to smooch his cheek. Tingles ran down his spine. He was so  _ hooked. _

“I missed you!” Hyungwon whined, a shy smile coming through.  _ Date me.  _ Changkyun wished up to the sky. “Go out with me.” 

_ What.  _ There’s no way he heard that right. Wishes aren’t granted  _ that _ quickly.

Changkyun shook his head, blinking. “What did you say?” he shouted.

“Come sit with me!” Hyungwon yelled back.

_ Of course, you idiot. _ And he allowed himself to be escorted by the elbow by his ultimate crush as he took another drag from the blunt between his fingers.

“We’re gonna play a game!” Minhyuk welcomed them with a shout. Kihyun turned down his phone linked to the Bluetooth speaker and began to rearrange different colored cones and pieces on the coffee table. Changkyun had never seen anything like it.

“Okay, what the hell is this?” he asked, eyebrow raised. He took another hit and felt edgy, stifling a cough with his IPA.

“Oooh, Changkyun’s gettin’ crossed!” Minhyuk declared, stealing the green can from Changkyun’s hand to take a sip of his own.

“This is Cones of Dunshire,” Kihyun answered, dead-panned. Changkyun dare not laugh.

“What?”

“Kihyun is the embodiment of Ben Wyatt from Parks and Rec,” Minhyuk explained, seemingly sobering a little. “He stole this game from the show.”

_ That’s why it sounds familiar!  _ Changkyun recently binged the entirety of Parks and Rec for a “staycation” spring break.

“I didn’t  _ steal it _ ,” Kihyun asserted. “I was inspired by it. I brought it to life.” His face was so smug, Changkyun couldn’t help but laugh.

“He made his own version with the rules he got from Ben and then forced us to help him make it.” Minhyuk picked up a metal figure and held it five inches from Changkyun’s face. “You have  _ no idea _ how long it took me to make this alchemist.” 

Changkyun’s mind flashed to the note cards he made to quiz himself, reminding him that Minhyuk was taking a class in 3D arts. His own roommate, Jooheon, had made fun of him for being “so extra”, but Changkyun smiled to himself.  _ The flash cards worked _ , he could hear himself reporting cockily to Jooheon later.

“Okay, so here’s how it goes.” Kihyun rattled off the rules--something about a maverick and Ledgermen?--and Changkyun latched onto the necessity to accumulate 4 cones by building a civilization.

This was more complex than Settlers of Catan.

“Let me guess.” Changkyun interrupted. “You play Magic the Gathering.”

Hyungwon and Minhyuk roared with laughter; Kihyun had a small grin as he reached for his 60 Minute once again for a small sip.

“I do,” he confessed.

_ Fucking nerd. _ Changkyun smiled to himself.

Then they got carried away, shouts and smoke filling the room. Minhyuk and Kihyun got  _ way _ more competitive than Changkyun had expected, but he held his own. Hyungwon was happy just to get one cone, and Changkyun rewarded him with a kiss to the cheek. Hyungwon melted into him.

Minhyuk ended up winning, but only because he convincingly argued that Kihyun was Much Too Sober for it to be fair, so Kihyun downed two glasses of whiskey from the freezer to prove a point. Kihyun stared into the table like he’d never been more betrayed.

“Oh, Kihyun,” Hyungwon chuckled sympathetically, and practically crawled over Changkyun to curl around his roommate. “It’s okay, Ki, you’re still a winner.”

Kihyun looked up to his slender roommate with pure adoration and kissed him. On the lips.

Changkyun’s heart sank.

_ What… _

“Hey, Changkyun,” Minhyuk’s voice demanded attention. “Come with me.” The guy who was previously a fit of shrieks and giggles transformed into a statue of stoicity.

Changkyun shuffled into the kitchen, Minhyuk’s hand guiding him with a gentle, but determined press to the small of his back. Changkyun lifted himself onto the open counter space, going through every interaction he’d had with Hyungwon thus far, wondering how he could be so stupid as to think that he might  _ actually  _ be interested in Changkyun.

He found a glass of ice water in his hands. Minhyuk.

“Take a few sips for me, bud.” Changkyun would normally resent the motherly push, but he was too wrapped in his own depressive thought spiral and needed the direction to get out of it. The chilly liquid moved down his throat. Minhyuk gave his arm an assuring squeeze. “There ya go.”

After a beat, “I take it Hyungwon hasn’t told you he’s poly yet?”

_ Poly? _

“Like polyamorous?” Hyungwon had explained his demisexuality to Changkyun after a few dates (were they actually dates? Changkyun wasn’t sure anymore), but this was new.

“Mhmm,” Minhyuk hummed and gestured for Changkyun to take another sip. He did. “Polyamorous. He and Kihyun have been in a queer platonic relationship for about six months now.”

Changkyun got the feeling Minhyuk was trying to be helpful, but he wasn’t sure how this was meant to help.

“Let me stop your storm of self-deprecating thoughts right there.” Minhyuk read his mind. “Hyungwon likes you.”  _ What?  _ “He  _ really  _ fucking likes you. Inviting you over to meet me, and  _ especially  _ Kihyun, is huge _. _ ”

Now Changkyun was more confused than ever. He still hadn’t gotten any  _ real _ explanations.

“Let me explain.”

_ Please _ , Changkyun silently begged, taking another sip of water.

“The three of us have shared this apartment for eight months then, after two months, Hyungwon and Kihyun started their QPP. Queer Platonic Partnership,” Minhyuk answered Changkyun’s quizzical look. “I’ll let them explain further, but they basically have a gradual relationship to accommodate Hyungwon’s comfort level with his demisexuality.”

“So then…” Chankgyun was trying to wrap his head around it, “they kiss and stuff but don’t have…”

Minhyuk laughed. Hard. “Man, I don’t know what they do in bed! Christ!” Minhyuk wiped a fake tear from the corner of his eye. “The  _ point _ is: they have this thing going that works, and Hyungwon told Kihyun about you. He told him a  _ bunch _ about you and how crazy he is about you. And Kihyun asked him to invite you over so he could meet the guy he’s heard so many great things about.”

“Wait, really?” Hope flooded back into Changkyun’s system.

“Changkyun! Hyungwon’s head over heels for you, ya dummy!” Minhyuk playfully hit Changkyun’s bicep. He felt his cheeks flush. 

“I just got so..” he trailed off.

“Confused?” Minhyuk finished. “No kidding! You looked like a kicked puppy. But you didn’t know, so I kidnapped you into this kitchen to fill you in, and now you can finish this water, get your shit together, and walk back into that living room and cuddle with your boo, okay?”

“Okay,” Changkyun said. His voice was small.

“Okay?!” Minhyuk asked again, demanding enthusiasm.

“Okay!” Changkyun declared. Minhyuk gave him a hard pat on the back and grabbed a bowl of chips, then left for the living room. Changkyun overheard Minhyuk covering him for them, explaining to the others that they’d grown hungry after the fierce competition of Cones of Dunshire.  _ Turns out Minhyuk’s the real angel. _

Changkyun set down his glass and grabbed one of the pre-poured bowls, cheez-its, probably filled by Kihyun, then went back into the living room.

“Changkyun, hug me!” Hyungwon demanded, arms open wide. Changkyun glanced to Minhyuk, who gave him a knowing nod, and then set down the bowl. Changkyun opened his arms and shot Hyungwon a look, daring him to come to him first. Hyungwon giggled and skipped across the room into Changkyun’s arms. 

Over his shoulder, Changkyun could see Kihyun looking at their embrace. But he was smiling. So Changkyun smiled back.

“Alright, love birds, get back to the couch.” Kihyun.  _ Love birds? _ “Let’s order food.”

“Oh!” Changkyun piped up, sinking into the couch. Hyungwon followed his force of gravity and curled into Changkyun, settling himself between him and Kihyun. “Do you guys like calzones?”

“Did you say  _ calzones _ ?” Kihyun asked dubiously.  _ Shit,  _ Changkyun thought to himself,  _ I should’ve just said pizza--it’s safer. _ He didn’t understand the Calzone Controversy, but people seemed to have strong opinions about them.

“Yeah,” Changkyun said sheepishly, “but we could just do pizza.”

“No!” Kihyun shouted. “I  _ love _ calzones!” He turned to Hyungwon. “I see why you like him.”

Changkyun seemed to be doing a lot of blushing tonight.

“Told you he’s Ben Wyatt.” Minhyuk smirked. 

“I am  _ not _ ,” Kihyun snapped, to which Minhyuk began singing  _ Ben Wyatt wannabe, Ben Wyatt wannabe, Ben Wyatt wanna- _

“Honestly, though, he has some really great shirts,” Kihyun confessed.

Minhyuk was appalled. “Kihyun! He wears plaid button-ups!  _ Daily _ !”

“And that’s bad?” In that moment, Kihyun was wearing a white v-neck under an unbuttoned collared black shirt, sleeves rolled to mid-forearm.  _ That adds up, _ Changkyun snickered to himself.

Minhyuk, on the other hand, was sporting an entirely different look. He had a soft baby pink hoodie, carefully cut into a crop top just an inch above his belly button, with grey cut-off shorts that stopped right above his knee, the white band of his Calvin Klein boxers peeking out. He was the embodiment of the stereotypically flamboyant gay man.

“Kihyunnn,” Minhyuk whined, “you’re  _ killing me _ .” 

_ Yep. _

Hyungwon just laughed and shifted in Changkyun’s hold to wrap his arm around Kihyun’s waist to give him a tight squeeze. The whole “QPP” and polyamory thing was beginning to feel more comfortable. Make a bit more sense.

Kihyun rolled his eyes and reached for his phone among the cones and pieces on the coffee table. But he had a small smile.  _ Okay, he’s kinda cute. _ “Are we going to order calzones then, or no, because I’ve got the place on speed dial.”

“Tell them Changkyun wants his usual,” Changkyun said, refusing to feel embarrassed. 

“Oh, absolutely,” Kihyun replied, hitting the screen and moving his phone to his ear. “Babe? Minhyuk? Orders?”

“Pepperoni please!” Hyungwon chimed.

“I want the veggie one,” Minhyuk answered. “I’m vegetarian,” he explained, turning to Changkyun.

“Oh,” Kihyun replied flatly, “I didn’t know, since you stole my bacon  _ this morning _ .” 

Before Minhyuk had a chance to rebuttal, Kihyun silenced him by putting up a finger.

“Hi, yes, I’d like to make an order for delivery?” Minhyuk looked truly offended. Hyungwon and Changkyun couldn’t help but laugh.

Hyungwon turned to face Changkyun, still a bit giggly, but coming down from the high.

“Changkyunnie?”

“Hmm?” he hummed back.

“Can I kiss you?”

“I’d like it if you did,” Changkyun answered with a smile.

And so their lips pressed together with some pop group playing in the background (Minhyuk had taken over after Kihyun’s call out), and Hyungwon smiled into the kiss. Changkyun’s worries slipped away as Hyungwon gently tugged on his bottom lip. It was soft and it was sweet and Changkyun was pleased as punch. 

The kiss ended, and their foreheads pressed together. Kihyun, order complete, reached and gave Changkyun an affirming shoulder squeeze.

Things were  _ definitely _ starting to make more sense. Changkyun silently thanked Minhyuk for the quick pep talk in the kitchen.

And then, “So when’s the food coming?!” Minhyuk nearly yelled, ruining the moment, almost fully. But not completely.

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> I started this fic while I was coming down from my 4/20 experience (I live in Colorado and am of age so don't worry, lol!), but I'm glad I finished it up today! I've been in a bit of a funk with writing and mostly just way too busy, but I'm glad to be back, at least at some level!
> 
> If you're reading Sirenuse, don't worry!! I'm not abandoning it forever!! I'm going to work on the next chapter this week, I promise! 
> 
> Thank you so much to my buds Alle and Ver for their feedback <3


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